Northern California - bike camping in the east bay?

Hey there, any recommendations for bike camping that's rideable (including BART) from Oakland? I'm not asking to blow up anyone's favorite stealth spot, just some recs. Is there any camping that doesn't involve ReserveAmerica? Thanks.

I'm also interested in the answer to this question. All I've heard about is Angel Island, which isn't technically rideable...

Well theres.... MOUNT DIABLO (http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=517)

I don't know what they charge for a camp site without a day pass for vehicles. About 5 miles from PH Bart to the entrance.

Sam Taylor park isn't in the East Bay, but it's easily reachable by bike from Oakland after taking BART to SF and has a beautiful Hike&Bike site (no reservations, ~$5/person I believe).

Besides Mt. Diablo, other parks in the East Bay with camping include Sunol Regional, Del Valle, and Lake Chabot. All are pretty easy to bike to from Oakland but they don't have Hike&Bike areas so reservations may be required depending on the date.

Other options with Hike&Bike sites include Brannan Island (north of Antioch), China Camp, Henry Cowell, Portola Redwoods, New Brighton (Capitola), Half Moon Bay, and Mt. Tamalpais.

Ok, it's not in the East Bay, but you could get there via BART to Caltrain, and bike from the nearest station. Black Mountain Backpack Camp is reachable by mountain bike via a wide trail/fire road. A friend and I camped there (we walked in) and our only neighbors were a family who arrived on mountain bikes with a trailer. It's in Monte Bello Open Space. The preserve is beautiful, and has some lovely hiking and mountain biking trails. More information about it is here:
http://www.openspace.org/preserves/pr_monte_bello.asp

You could take the BART over to SF, ride over the Golden Gate Bridge, and ride on to Point Rayes. I did this ride earlier this year and thought it was very pleasant, and of course Point Rayes is gorgeous. All of the camping in Point Rayes proper is back country and requires riding off road. I haven't ridden these trails but I've hiked them and I would probably feel comfortable trying this with a touring bike with 32mm slicks, although I'd probably throw on 40mm semi-offroad tires I have for this ride. All campsites are accessible by bike (except Tomales bay which is boat-only), but the interconnecting trails are not approved by bike usage, so you need to come out the way you came in before you can head to a different campsite. Point Rayes reservations fill quickly.

Isn't there camping at Coyote Hills near the Dumbarton Bridge?

Isn't there camping at Coyote Hills near the Dumbarton Bridge?
The only legal camping I know of at Coyote Hills is a large group site that requires reservations - don't think they have provisions for individual or family camping.

There are also a few campgrounds in the Marin Headlands area - reservations are required but several of these have no camping fee.

The only legal camping I know of at Coyote Hills is a large group site that requires reservations - don't think they have provisions for individual or family camping.

There are also a few campgrounds in the Marin Headlands area - reservations are required but several of these have no camping fee.

Ah, thank you. I knew I'd seen campers the last time I was hiking there, but couldn't remember the type of site.

Thanks all!


All I've heard about is Angel Island, which isn't technically rideable...

We've bike-camped Angel Island. There isn't a great deal of riding--all the camp sites are close enough to hike in to, although you can also ride around the island. On the other hand, the views are amazing, and it's pretty cool when the last ferry departs in the evening and empties out the island, leaving just you, the other campers, a few rangers, and several raccoons.